How a Celebrity Publicist Protects Her Clients From Feminist Minefields

Perhaps when Chloë Grace Moretz decided to comment on Kim Kardashian's (almost) nude selfie — "I truly hope you realize how important setting goals are for young women, teaching them we have so much more to offer than our bodies," Chloë tweeted — she didn't think Kim would reply. Or perhaps she assumed that, even if Kim did reply, the public wouldn't side with a reality star over a movie star anyway. But if Chloë was trying to gin up some positive feminist press, it backfired. Kim did reply — harshly — and celebrities including Ariel Winter, Emily Ratajkowski, Demi Lovato, and Bella Thorne rushed to the Kardashian's defense. The feud, though silly, raised serious questions: Why is Kim's body, or any woman's body, such a lightening rod? Would a "good feminist" really attack another woman for showing confidence in her body? And for the celeb-sausage heads: Why would a star even broach such a hot-button topic on Twitter, and how are PR teams handling feminist minefields in general? To better understand those last questions, Cosmopolitan.com spoke to a publicist who represents A-list, award-winning actors, on the condition of anonymity. Here are her insights:

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Do you think Chloë ran her tweet by her publicist before sending it out into the world?I can't imagine that she ran that by her publicist. I don't know that there's any way to accurately say either way. But I doubt it.

Is there a common practice for how publicists handle their clients with respect to social media?Not that I'm aware of. My clients don't tell me anything that they tweet; I'll just see stuff. But I don't work with anybody who has offered up commentary that could potentially be controversial. If I have a client that's doing a film that's very secretive or whatever, they run those things by me, like, "Hey, do you think it's OK for me to post this picture from set?" If I represented somebody who had a knack for saying things online, who seem to constantly drum up controversy, I would maybe have that dialogue with them, like, "Listen, before you post anything, why don't you just run it by me so I can give you a counter position on why it might be problematic?"

How would you advise a client if she found herself in Chloë's position? I don't think there was anything wrong with what Chloë said. She didn't call Kim names. Her statement was like, "It's really important to teach young girls that they're not just their bodies." I don't think there's anything wrong with that. And I don't think there's anything wrong with someone who thinks the contrary. Those are just points of view.

I always err on the side of, "What speaks to a client's genuine personality and voice?" So if someone's genuine to their voice, I'm like, "That's who they are." But if it's something that doesn't speak to who they are, then that's where you might issue a response, where it requires crafting.

A lot of celebrities have come to Kim's defense. How has the perception of her changed among celebrities over the last eight years? She used to be a celebrity punching bag. I think she still is. Here's the deal too: Aren't the people that are commenting in support of her pop stars? Are serious actresses commenting on things or are pop stars coming out in support of her? I'm not trashing anyone, but with pop stars like Demi Lovato, part of their persona is being a character, a public figure. The people that are coming out in support of her are more public figures than they are actors. So you're saying is it going to impact Chloë's standing in Hollywood — no, because Kim's not a Hollywood fixture.

What is she then?When I think Hollywood, I think of actors. She's a celebrity. There's a distinction. Her fame is about her putting her entire life on display.

Is jumping in on a celebrity feud a good way for another celebrity — who wasn't even involved in the feud initially — a smart way to get press? It matters what your intention is: how seriously a person wants to be taken, what they want the public perception of them to be. That's where it has to start. Are you an actress who wants to be taken seriously and work in films with Oscar potential? Are you a pop star who's looking to sell as many albums and concert tickets? If you're someone who wants to be a serious actress, I say don't engage whatsoever. But listen, people are getting covers of magazines for saying something controversial.

I suspect that on some level, Chloë didn't expect the public to rush to Kim's defense. Her comments may have gotten her applause two years ago, but the perception of Kim has changed. Has your approach to how your clients talk about feminism changed in the past few years? Here's the thing: You can't talk about feminism in 140 characters.

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But what if a celeb is in a junket interview or doing a longer feature, and it comes up? How do you prepare clients for conversations about feminism or being a woman in Hollywood?Again, it always has to come from a place of authenticity. So if I have an actress who isn't really invested in the conversation of feminism but wants to say something about it because it's a topic that comes up and they might get attention, I don't want them to engage in that type of thing, because they're definitely going to be called to task and have to defend a position that they're not even really that sure about. But if it's somebody who I've had conversations with about these things and I know it's somebody who has well-crafted thoughts on the matter, then we'll talk it through.

And you can't whitewash everything. I'm so opposed to that. There's a crazy need for political correctness all the time that is exhausting. Because of social media, everyone's taken to task for everything. So what do you say? Nothing? Ever? You never say anything of substance because of the fact that there will be people who will be like, "Right on," and people who will be like, "She's an idiot"? You're just going to be the most boring person ever? And there are people who do that. There are people who don't engage in conversations other than the straightforward, "I'm here to talk about my project, boom, boom, boom" talking points. And that's boring. What's the point?

Remember when celebrities were constantly being asked, "Are you a feminist"?Yes. And some people took offense to it and some people didn't. Some people think the word "feminism" is a derogatory term and that feminists are anti-man. And it's like, "No, it's about equality, period."

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Did you find yourself preparing clients for that question?If it's a situation where you know it's going to come up, you prepare for that situation. But the hard part is if you're doing a red carpet, and sometimes you're thrown for a loop in that kind of situation.

How are you handling the Hollywood diversity conversation with clients? It's a huge problem and everyone is expected to discuss it.Equality and diversity, period, is a hot-button issue that's talked about all the time. And I don't think it's something that anybody doesn't think is important. But it's how it's talked about that's tricky. Because things are relegated to sound bites and clips, and the things that people say are in the hands of editors too. On a red carpet at a premiere, you're talking to five little tape recorders, and in those types of situations, as a publicist, it's my job to know my client. And I know the clients that are going to be caught off-guard by that and say something either incoherent or not great — and it's my job to say, "Oh, hey, guys, I'm sorry, we've got to go in" — and interrupt that.

Which reminds me of the #AskHerMore campaign: I completely agree with it on a feminist level, because of course women should be asked about more than what they're wearing, but it also annoys me a little bit because the truth is if a reporter asked serious questions on a red carpet, publicists would often shut them down. Are reporters really expected to ask tough questions on a red carpet?No. And the fact is, there is so much pressure for the actresses to mention the designers, because the designers are dressing them — they need to get the press. But still, why are we subjected to things that men don't have to worry about, the vapid things? Yes, we like clothes and makeup and hair and it's a process, but we're also more than that.

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You mentioned a pressure for celebrities to be politically correct. Does that impact female celebs more than male celebs?There's definitely less of a microscope on men. I think men get away with saying more potentially damaging things than women do. Maybe it is that thing of women are expected to be pretty and quiet.

How often do you warn a client, "Don't talk about this"?It's my job to pay attention to what's going on in the media and be able to prep my client. So it's like, during the Oscars, I represent African-American clients, so when they were doing press that had nothing to do with film — they were promoting TV shows or something like that — it's my job to say, "Hey, just be prepared: The question about #OscarsSoWhite might come up. How are you going to answer that if it does?" We have a conversation about it. "OK, that's great. Cool."

If I had a female doing a junket this weekend on the heels of this [Kim Kardashian] controversy, I would say, "FYI, I don't know if you follow what's going on, but there's this situation going on, you'll likely be asked about it because you're a woman in Hollywood. Let's talk about how we're going to handle it."

Let's say you ask someone how they might respond to a Kim question, and they say, "I think Kim Kardashian is the worst thing to happen to culture." What would you say?I would say, "Let's maybe not say that, please. But let's figure out a way to have the topic answered…" Or I would advise them to be like, "Oh, no, I haven't been following that."

But then the reporter can just fill them in and ask again."I don't know, I'm not in the position to say anything," that kind of thing. Maybe your next question is going to be like, "OK, barring this particular incident, what do you think about a woman using her body as part of her brand?" And that's a different story.

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Would you want to represent Kim Kardashian?That question has come up in passing before. It's not my wheelhouse. I only represent actors and actresses. I enjoy working with someone who has an image in the public that makes them relatable but who also maintains their privacy. It's figuring out, "Who is the person you want to show the public so they feel like they know you and that they are invested in you and they want to support you in the projects you have — because without people going to see your shit, you don't get cast — but how far can we go all while maintaining your sense of privacy and sanity?" So Kim would just not be a fit for why I do this. I like developing an image with people. The Kardashians are their own machine — a publicist would just be about damage control.

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